Machine for making and packing cigarettes



Sept. 21, 1943. D. w. MOLINS MACHINE FOR MAKING AND PACKING CIGARETTES Filed May 22, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Segt. 21-, 1943. D. w. MOLINS MACHINE FOR MAKING AND PACKING CIGARETTES Filed May 22. 1940 e Sheets-Sheet 2 EE E p 1943- D. w. MOLINS 2,330,000

MACHINE FOR MAKING AND PACKING CIGARETTES m, M, aw, 9%

Sept. 21, 1943. D. w. MOLINS MACHINE FOR MAKING AND PACKING CIGARETTES v 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 22, 1940 fnvmior 2 A I r Sept. 21, 1943. D. w. MOLINS MACHINE FOR MAKING AND PACKING cmmuz'r'ms Filed May 22, 1940 6 Sheets-Shet 5 Sept. 21, 1943. D. w. MOLINS 2,330,000

MACHINE FOR MAKING AND PACKING CIGARETTES l Filed May 22, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet e Patented Sept. 21, 1943 i Eon MAKING AND PACKlNG' 7,0IGARETTES a 'MAcHmE Desmond Walter Molins; Deptford; LondonpEnga land, assignor "to Molins Machine Company; 5 Y Limited, Dept/ford, London; England Application May 22, 1940,"seria'saeastso In GreatBritain June 6, 1939 I '7 14.Claims. (c1; w -25 eating with the path of v to. the packing machine, and'yvherein adjusting' c a m pper ble a l ifs o i ed. .t ica l v This invention is for improvements in or re-l lating to machines for making and packingcig-v arettes and refers to a combined. cigarette making and packing machine in which a supply of cigarettes made by acigarette male'ng machine are received by an endless conveyor andare carv ried thereby to a packing machine 'driven timed relationship with the cigarette making machine and in a' manner such that the latter. machine can continue to operate during tern; porary stoppages of thep'acking machina'jsaid packing machine being normally operated at a; speedsuch as to prevent a surplus of cigarettes from being deposited on the conveyor bythe cigarette making machine. Such a combinedjmaa chine will be referred to below as a machine of" the kind described.

In machines of the kind described it is found that when both the cigarette making machine;

and the packing machine are operating in their Q normal manner it is necessary to stop the packing machine at different times from the,"cigarette making machine. "j

In such combined machines the cigarette making machine may beoperated'ata speed ofabout' 1200 or more cigarettes per minute, and the pack ing machine frequently is so'arranged as to pack. batches each containing twenty cigarettes.

A stoppage of the packing machine for the purpose of providing a new reel of wrapping material such as the metal foil commonly used for. an interior wrapping usually occupies a space of timeof from to 1 minute. It. will beseen; therefore,fthat the stoppage of the packing machine is of a short or temporary nature. If, how-- ever, the cigarettes are being delivered by the} cigarette making machine at the rate of 12001 cigarettes per minute,it will be seen that during. the short stoppage of. the packing machine approximately 1200 cigarettes will have been deliv ered by the cigarette making machine while no cigarettes have been used by the packing ma chine. It has heretofore been usual ,to collect these surplus cigarettes and to removethem from the conveyor band on to which they have been delivered from thecigarette making machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machineof the kind described whereby it is not necessary to remove from the conveyor the. surplus cigarettes which accumulate during a short or temporary stoppage as aforesaid of the packing machine. I

According to the invention there is provided a machine of the kind described, wherein there is provided a reservoir for cigarettes communi-' ed e br ma mol st d ward y" "the cigarettes the conveyor and'the packing machine to beeperated at a speed greater than thenormal' speed' thereof for the purposefoi disposing" ofjcigarettes in. said reservoir. 2 The reservoir may .be so arrangedthat cigarettes ffe'd by the conveyor during stoppage of thfe packin" machine will 39-:

cumulateinthe reservoirs; 1 5

' A" driving mechanism iforj th a r sti ma. ing machine anda driyin "mechanism iorthe packing machineis provided, anisms being operatedfrom independent syn chronized sources during-fthejnormal' running oi the machine, and a driving mechanism is vprovided m ne cpnveyor and connected with "each of said otherdrivingmechanisnis; so as normally to, be operated by; the cigarette making machine i i m ha -g hsa i t e anism li ds me (8-; a tit -Wheel dev c or 9 vices) n ed i P rm t h 's r q q the; 0 1-" v'eybr ,th u i t e: tq t e: m k nsxm h ns driving mechanism tof be'overrun'when-the packing machine isoperatedat-a speed greater. than the normal speed whereby the conveyor fis,j dur-f ing the period during which thepacking machinis O a e a a a ereedw riv niby. the driving mechanism for'the packing machine.

Thecigarettes delivered-by "the'j' conv yor may i delivery chute ithrough beydischargedkint hi e ci e .,;i' a t th anama chineand ;th

ommunicate with;

charged into i said I delivery chute The reservoir may comprise side walls ge tendingi lengthwise awnene conveyor, and a movable wall disposed rection such as 'to'tend to"move"cigarettes away.

from theentraric 'e to the chu teg (Thelimovable wall 1 may comprise a plurality of endless bands sp ced'a 'i om a t i the ow r n tween th'e endless bands so as, to form a Wall the lower partof'which" movablewhilethe upper part is stationary I i {The reservoir may ommunicateiwith the supn ybi ci arettes c sition which 'is wholly above the conveyor,"

said driving mech-.

, siQrIate bs tion above that at which the cigarettes are dis? above the conveyor, and a positively driven roller The lower end of that. bottom wall may be retained in. 'a fixed position.

(e. g., a roller having peripheral flutes extending lengthwise in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor) may be I.

mounted for rotation at a position adjacent to the lower end of said bottom wall and above the conveyor to assist the movement of cigarettes from the conveyor into the reservoir.

The invention will be described by way ofexample with reference. to the accompanying. drawings. in which: l j

"Figure 1 is a plan of a combined cigarette making and packing machine. embodying the invention. r

Figure 2 is. a section of Figure 1 on line A-A drawn to a larger scale.

Figure 3. is a view of a portionof Figure ,1. in the direction. of. the arrow C}, drawn to'a larger scale and partly broken away.

Figure 4 is a view of part of Figure 2Lshoiwing, certaimmodifications.

Figure 5. is. a; viewsimilar to Figure 2 showing a modifiedformofi reservoir.

Figure 6. is a diagram -of certain driving arrangements, not to scale. I

Referring. to. the drawings, a. continuous. rod. type. cigarette making. machine indicated. gen. erally by .the reference C. M. is. connected to ,a. packing machine indicated generally by the reference. P; M. which is driven in. timed relation shipwith the, cigarette making. machine, the cig;- arettes made by the latten being delivered ontoan. endless conveyor band. marked 3- which e n;- veys the cigarettes. towards. the packing; machine and delivers. them thereto inthe manner de--- scribed later. v

In the construction shown the. cigarettemabingmachine. and the. packingmachine are driven by separate electricmotorsi. and 2 respectively and. the conveyor band. B is arranged during thenoninal. running of the combined machine to'be. driven. irom. the motor I. which drives. the. Gig. arette making machine; The driving mechanism. for the conveyor band. includes a free wheel device. whichis connected with the driving-mocha anism for the packing. machine and. is so ar ranged. as to. be, capable under the influence of. the driving mechanismior the packing machine, to overrun. the driving mechanism of the cigarette making machine and. thus to be driven at, a. greater speed. than the normal speed of operation. of the combined machine.

When. the. combined machine is. being operated. at it normal speed; the speed of. operationof. the packing machine is so. co-related to. that. of the cigarette making, machine. that substam tially the. whole. output of the cigarette. making, machine is. absorbed by the. packing. machine thus. avoiding an accumulation of. surplus. cigarettes; on the conveyor band. When, however,. thepacking machine is temporarily stopped as for. example during. thechanging, of bobbins. which contain the. reels. of wrapping material. such as,

metal io'il'. employed onlthepaokingmachine;the; 7,5, respondingl'y proportioned; and. thus two. rows.

* paper web 5.

comprises a tobacco feeding hopper 4 containing cardedrollers: and: other usual devices for feeding tobacco: from a mass and delivering it as a shower on to a conveyor such as a travelling The loaded web passes at 6 beheath. a compression wheel or equivalent device,

(after which paste is applied by a wheel 1. The

paper is folded around the tobacco in a former 8 and a heater 9. seals the seam of the rod. The heater is shown. in the ad position in. the drawings, that isswung clear. of the rod. This is the position to which the heaters are. swung when the machine is temporarily stopped,. toprevent overheating or charring oijthe rod when. the latter is stationary. After passing the heater. the. rod, is cut by a rotary cutter 1cm. produce. separate cigarettes. The movement ofthe paper web and resulting'r'o-d is. efiected. as usual by an endless tape ll driven by a tape drum. I21. The cut. cigarettes drop onto another conveyor tape [3 moving at a higher speed than. the rod. speed. inorder to separate the cigarettes axially. Finally the. cut cigarettes are deflected laterally from their line of'movementby deflecting. devices l4,

l5 and f6, and delivered in three rows on. the

band B. All the devices. mentioned. in the foregoing brief description are well known, and it only, remains to remark that all are driven at. their appropriate speeds from a main shaft II rotatably mounted in. the interior of. the bed IX of the cigarette machine. The. main. shaft H is. driven from a countershaft I19- by. a chainllI and a sprocket contained inthe box 2|.

The countershaft I9 is driven from the motor I by a belt. 22 passing over a pulley 23 on said main shaft; An expandible. pulley 25 on the. countershaft drives all the mechanism contained in the hopper 4' by a' belt 26 passing over a pulley 2? on the shaft of one of the hopper rollers.

the other parts being suitably geared to said.

hopp-ershaft. The pulley may be expanded or contracted by manipulation; of a handwheel'. 28 in order; to change the speed of' thehopper relatively to the rest of the cigarette machine. as is. customary" on some such machines. The bandBi whichis. driven in thedirection of. the arrow as.

described in detail later conveys the cigarettes towards three chutes 29,. 3fl'and 31., down which. the cigarettes pass to the packinglmachine.

In the. machine shown, the cigarettes are delivered' from the cigarette. making machine on to the' conveyor band. B in three. rows so that during a run of.o1ie minute each of. the threerows has delivered'thereto approximately, 4UU cigar-- rettes, that is; when the cigarette making, machine is being operated at the. rate of 1200 cigarettes per minute. When it. is. desired to. pack. twenty cigarettes in. three rows,.one row, usually the. middle row,.wi1l only. contain. six. cigarettes while the other two rows each containssevem In such a case the. number of cigarcttesdelivered to, each offthethreerows on theband B. is.cor-

would receive slightlyfmore than .7400 cigarettes and one row slightlyfless than 400 during. the

stoppage.- In-Figure:.1 three setsof seven, six

and seven cigarettes respectively areshownon the band to illustrate, this, but" in actual prac-: tice the cigarettes in all the rows are closeytogether','the whole, band being; covered asindicatedjby the crossed dot anddash lines.'; In

order, therefore, toaccumulate the'surplus cigarettes three reservoirs'32, 33 and 34 areprovided, one for each'row of cigaretteson the endless conveyor band. The reservoirs are preferably, made of a size such as to contain approximately800 to 1,000,cigarettes therebya'llowingamargin of time for elfecting the necessary bobbin changes on the packing machine.

the reservoir 34.

The cigarettes are moved into thereservoir through an opening 35 in the bottomthereof, theopening being defined by the lower end of the bottom wall 36 of the reservoir and the lower end of the front wall 3'! thereof. The bottornwall comprises a fixed platewhich slopes upwardly in the direction of movement cfthe' conveyor band and the lower end of the wall is arranged above the surface of the endless conveyor band.

The front wall of the reservoir is disposed in. advance of the position at which the cigarettes.

first engage the bottom wallof the reservoir and it is journalled for oscillatory movement on a spindle at 38 above the conveyor band. The front wall is oscillated by a camfiil, driven by a v sprocket 49 which is driven by a chain 41. con-. nected with the driving mechanism for the cigae, rette making machine bya sprocket 42 on the.

main shaft H as shown, and the wall 31 is arranged to be oscillated aboutits ,pivotahaxisso, as to facilitate the movementofithe cigarettes.

from the conveyor band into the reservoir. Alternatively the wall may be oscillated by a crank and connecting rod as in the construction shown in Figure 4. v I

, When the packing machine is stopped the cigarettes will be obstructed from moving towards the packing machine due to the fact that they pass beneath plates 43 constituting parts of the chutes 29, 38 and El which are disposed above,

the conveyor band B at a distance which is suff cient to permit the cigarettes to pass between the plates and thesurface of theconveyor band, and

such plates extend from the downwardly directed passages of the chute through ,whichthe cigarettes move from the conveyor band; to the packing machine, to a roller 44 which is locatecb lower end of the bottomwall of the reservoir is provided. with peripheral flutes which extend.

lengthwise transversely of the direction of movement of the conveyor band and the roller is positively rotated in the direction of thearrow in the manner hereinafter'described, so as .to assist. the movement of the cigarettes into thereservoir."

be thrust into an outer wrapper.

only illustrated diagrammatically but the various organsf hereinafter referred. to may becon-' structed to the designsfshown in the patents enumerated; The machine comprises a bed 45;

onto which the cigarettes from the chute 3! are delivered asshown in Figure 2. The leading cigarette is arrested by a guide 48 and-.a pusher 41, which may be carried byv a continuous conveyor 48 as shown,:o'r beof .thereciprocating plunger type, moves along the bed and carries,

away seven-cigaretteslfrom the end .of the col-'-. uinn. A suitable arrangement of thev plunger. type 'is shown in United States Patent No.

1,193,918, while a continuous conveyor arrangement is shownin British Patent 'No. 395,029,

though inthe latter case the. cigarettes pass to the pushers more or less horizontally. The adaptation of the chutes shownin the present application tosaid. arrangement is however.

obvious. As the pusher passes beyond the base of the chute 3.! further cigarettes move down the chute on to thebed. The other chutes. 30 and 29 respectively Ideliver theircigarettes on to platforms 5t and 49 respectively raised above the bed, the arrangement being such that the pusher sweeps six cigarettes from the next'column which become superimposed on the seven first gathered by the pusher and still further movement of the pusher gathers seven cigarettes from. the third column, thus collating a batch of twenty cigarettes in three rows.

is folded about the batch in a folding device 52.

These devices may be constructed on, the lines illustrated in United States Patent No. 1,468,216

and where it is desired to fold down the open end of the wrapper on to the exposedv ends of the cigarettes the arrangements shown in United States Patent No. 1,517,307 may be used. ,Afterthe wrappingoperation the wrapped batch may As shown, open ended packets 53 are stacked in a magazine 54, A wrapped batchis pushed into a packet by further movement of the pusher 47, in the manner shown in- United States Patent No, 1,468,246, and continued movement of the pusher also carries the filled packet out of the magazine and. into a tucking device 55, constructed for 'exampleas shown in British Patent No. 287,209, which closes the open end of the packet. The closed packet is then discharged from thema chine.

The packing machine is driven by the motor 2 through a variable speed gear 55 of known kind which may be adjusted by a handwheel 5? or the.

like. A pulley 58 on the variable speed gear 56 is connected by a belt 59 to apulley to on the mainshaft GI of the. packing machine. The motors l and 2 are of such type (e. g. synchronous), and the driving arrangements are such, that normally the two machines run at proper co-related speeds until the packing inaarranged above the conveyor bandand it is -The packing machine'P..M.-is, as aforesaid,

During the stoppage, however, as described above, a surplus of. cigarettes has been accumulated in the reservoirs,

desired to dispersethis accumulation of cigarettes before the next stoppage'of the packing machine occurs. In order to effect this, the variable speed mechanism. 55, which can be ad-- justed at will by the handwheel 5'], is provided in the drive for the packing machine, andby means of this variable speed .mechanism the packing machine is caused to operate for a period of time at a speed which is greater thanthe normal speed of the combined machine. This greater speed of the packing machine is continued until the surplus cigarettes contained in the reservoirs are completely used up or until. only a few cigarettes remain in the reservoirs. As previously mentioned, during the period of greater speed of the packing machine the conveyor band is also moved at a greater linear speed.

Figures 2 and 3 show the driving arrangements at each end of the conveyor band B. The band is normally driven from the mainshaft ll of the cigarette machine. In view of the relatively'slow speed of the band as compared with the rest of the machine, reduction gearing is incorporated in the drive to the band. As shown in Figure 3, the shaft H has a worm 62 fixed on it which engages a worm wheel 63 mounted on a spindle 64.

The spindle 64 also carries a bevel wheel 65.

which engages with another bevel wheel 66, to which is attached a sprocket 61. A chain 68 passes around said sprocket and around a free wheel sprocket 69 on the shaft 19 of the band driving roller H. When the combined machine is operating normally the chain 63 drives the roller H directly as the pawl of the free wheel is in operative engagement.

Referring to Figure 2, a similar drive is shown at the other end of the band B. The mainshaft 6! of the packing machine has a worm 13.0n it engaging a wormwheel 14 on a spindle l5. The spindle 15 also has a bevel wheel 76 attached to it, which latter wheel engages with another bevel wheel I! to which is attached a sprocket 1B. A chain 19 runs over the sprocket 8 and over a free wheel sprocket 8E! on the band roller 8|. The gear ratios of the respective drives are so related that when the combined machine is running normally the drive shown in Figure 2 is idling, that is to say it does not operate to drive the roller 85; alternatively the band roller 8i may travel slightly faster under the influence of the Figure 3 drive than the free wheel sprocket 80 which will thus be overrun. When the packing machine stops, the band B will continue to move at its former rate, being driven by the drive shown in Figure 3, and the free wheel sprocket 80 will thus be overrun. Cigarettes will therefore be delivered into the reservoirs 32, 3-3 and 34 as previously described.

When the packing machine is restarted it is speeded up by suitable manipulation of the handwheel 5! of the variable speed gear 56. Then the drive shown in Figure 2 will become operative and the band B will be driven at increased speed until the cigarettes in the reservoirs have been exhausted, or nearly so, whenlthe machine operator adjusts the 'handwheel '51 again until the combined machine is running at properco-related speeds in thenormal manner. If desired, a shield such as is shown at 82, Figure 2,-may be provided in each of the reservoirs to control the cigarettes as they pass out of the reservoirs on to the conveyor band in order properly to align thecigarettes with reasa ooo:

spect to the positions. which it is desiredthey shall occupy on the band for delivery to the packing machine. As shown, this shield is formed in hingedly connected sections," and is connected with the moving front wall of the reservoir so as to be oscillated therewith.

It will be obvious that if desired should the, packing machine be stoppedfor a greater period of time than it is normally anticipated would be occupied in the replacement of a molar material, some of the cigarettesmay be removed from the reservoirs and placed into suitable receptacles by the machine minder. Cigarettes removed in this manner or additional cigarettes which may have been acquired in some other manner, may be inserted by the machine minder into the reservoir when the packing machine is again restarted and may be disposed of during .the period inwhich thepacking machine is operated at a speed greater than the normal speed of the combined machine.

In the modified construction shown in Figure 4, the front wall 31 of the reservoir is moved a. short distance further away from the sloping bottom wall 36 thereof, and betwen the lower end of the sloping bottom wall and the moving front wall there is provided a fixed ramp 83 which is supported by the frame 84 carrying the endless conveyor band B. The ramp comprises a substantially triangular bar which extends across the Width of the endless conveyor hand, one surface of the bar sloping downwardly towards the endless conveyor band and being arranged in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the sloping bottom wall of the reservoir, the plane of the bottom wall being slightly above that of the ramp. The arrangement is such that cigarettes can pass from the endless conveyor band up the sloping surface of the ramp and are directed thereby towards the lower end of the bottom wall of the reservoir in a substantially straight line. An adjoining surface of the ramp is also directed downwardlly towards the endless conveyor band and is disposed at a distancefrom the roller 44 which is located at the lower end of the sloping bottom Wall of the reservoir which distance is less than the diameter of two cigarettes but greater than the diameter of one cigarette. This arrangement provides an outlet to the reservoir through which cigarettes issuing from the reservoir can pass, and the provision of the ramp tends to release the pressure on the cigarettes moving out of the reservoir,

.. thereby iaci-litatingthe easy passage of the cigarettes from the reservoir. In this modified construction it is not necessary to use the shield 82 above referred to," since it is found that the cigarettes issuing from the reservoir tend tobecome properly aligned by the ramp or bycigarettes engaged by the ramp."

A modified form of reservoir is shown in Figure 5, in which means are provided for keeping open the mouth of the chute 31. The band B slopes a slightly .down towards the reservoir and a roller ail-which may be smooth or fluted rotates in the direction of the arrow and in co-operation with the band frictionally feeds the cigarettes towards the entrance of the reservoir, and controlsthem' so that they cannot fall askew. The chute 3| normally takesawaythe cigarettes to the packing machine. A cam operated stop. 88 may be fitted to thechute to arrest the movement of the cigar e ttes down said chute, the stop operating in timed relationship with the packing machine;

assume Each time said stop checks the flow of cigarettes down the chute a slight accumulation of cigarettes will take place in the neighbourhood of the entrance to said chute, and it is'often desirable, when operating a combined machine of the kind herein described; to permit a few cigarettes to accumulate in the reservoir to make up for any defective cigarettes removedfrom the band B by the operator. Such an accumulation however tends to choke the mouth of the chute and 'pre-- vent the free flow of cigarettes into it and often, owing to the rolling of the cigarettes on one another dueto the action of the band B and roller 85, the cigarettes tend to arch or bridge across the mouth of the chute and prevent cigarettes from moving into it. v A fluted or roughened roller 81, generally similar to the roller 44 shown in Figure 2, is arranged and rotated as shown, and this roller relieves the choking but does not aways prevent bridging, and means are provided to Carry'surplus cigarettes away from the vicinity of the mouth of the chute and to relieve the mouth from the weight of said surplus so that the cigarettes can flow freely. This means comprises a flexible conveyor 88 consisting of two or more endless bands formed'from helical wire springs; The bands lie in grooves inthe roller Bl by which they are driven and pass over an adjustable roller 89 by means of which the tension and angle of th bands may be adjusted.

44 and thus normallythe free wheel 92 is overrun When the, packing machine stops the innermember of free wheel 94 will of course stop but the chain 93 will continue to move an the free wheel 94 will be overrun, What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: V

1. A'machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein the lower end of the bottom wall is retained in a fixed position above thejconveyor and wherein a positively driven fluted roller is mounted for rotation at a position adjacent the lower end of said bottom wall and above the conveyor to assist the movement of cigarettes from the conveyor into the reservoir. 2. "A machine as'claimed in'claim 9, wherein ajshield comprisinghingedly connected sections is located in the reservoir and connected with the front, wall of the reservoir for movement therewith, v r r 3. A machine as claimed in claim 9, wherein a fixed ramp is located between the lower, end of the sloping bottom wall' oi the reseryoir and the moving front wall and at such a distance from the surface of the conveyor that all cigarettes carried by the conveyor towardsthe reser- The moving parts are all driven at thence of the reservoir is formed partly by the conveyor bands 88 and partly by a 'plate 98 arranged as shown. The plate 98 may be arranged to touch the bands 83, in which case it will be vibrated by them. Alternatively the plate 99 may be fixed clear of the bands 88. The capacity of the reservoir maybe increased by extending the sides further along the band B, t 5

In the constructions above described it is preferable, in order to reduce as far as possible rotation of the cigarettes as they enter and'issue from the reservoir to control the speed of rotation of the roller 54 or 81 as the case may be, which is located at the lower end of the reservoir. With this object in View, the rolleris driven bya free Wheel device and is so arranged that when .the

combined packing and cigarette making ma-I chines are running in their normal manner the roller is arranged to rotate at a relatively high speed, but when the packing machine is stopped and cigarettes are being delivered into the reservoir the speed of rotation of the roller'is re duced by about one-half. v v

Referring to Figure 6 of the drawings, the

roller i l, shown broken, is driven by a chain 9| roller M is driven by a chain 93 from a free wheel sprocket Seen the packing machine mainshaft at say 120 revolutions per minute, The chain passes over a sprocket 95 on the shaft of roller voirpass over the ramp. o

' 4, A c ombinedcigarette making and packing machine, comprising in combination'a cigarettemaking unit and packing-unit driven in timed relationship to one another, an endless conveyor to receive cigarettes from the making-unit, the packing-unit being normally operable at a speed such as to prevent'a surplus of cigarettes accumulatingon the conveyor, but capable of being stopped independently of the conveyor and the making-unit, a'reservoir for cigarettes communicating with the path of the cigarettes moving towards the packing-unit, and mechanism operable at will to cause the conveyor and the packing-unit to be operated at speeds greater than their normal speeds for the purpose of disposing of cigarettes which have accumulated in the reservoir during a stoppage ofthe packing-unit.

5. A combined cigarette-making and packing machine, comprising in combination, ,a cigarettemaking unit and a packing-unit, independently controllable driving mechanisms for the cigarette-making unit and for the packing-unit respectively, the driving mechanisms being driven from, separate independent but synchronized sources, an endless conveyor to receive cigarettes from the cigarette-making unit and to convey them towardsthe packing-unit, a reservoir for cigarettes communicating with the path of the cigarettes moving towards the packing-unit, a driving mechanism for the conveyor connected with each 'ofsaid other driving mechanisms,-arranged normally to be operated by the driving mechanism of the cigarette making unit but operable at will to cause the conveyor and the packing unit to be "operated at a speed greater than the normal speed of the packing-unit for the purpose of disposing of cigarettes which have accumulatedfiin the reservoir during the stoppage of the packing-unit. U 6. A combined cigarette making and packing machine, comprising in combination a cigarette making unit and a packing-unit, independently controllable driving mechanisms for the cigarette-making unit and-for the packing-unit respectively, the driving mechanisms being driven from separate independent but synchronized sources, an endless conveyor toreceive cigarettes from the cigarette-making 'unit and .to convey them .itowards the packing-unite reservoir ior cigarettes communicating withthe path of the cigarettes moving towards the packing-unit, and a driving-mechanismfor the conveyor connected with each of said other driving mechanisms, arranged normally to be operated Iby the driving mechanism of the ,cigaretteniak-ing .unit' but operable .at will to causethe. conveyor and the packing-unit to be operated at aspeed greater than the normal'spced of the packing-unit for the purpose of disposing of cigarettes which have accumulated in the reservoir during the stoppage of the packing-unit, said driving mechanism for the conveyor including means arranged to permit the drive to the conveyor through the cigarette making machine driving mechanism to be overrun when the packing machine is operated at a speed greater than the normal speed where'- by the conveyor is, during the period during which the packing machine is operated at a greater speed, driven by the driving mechanism ior the packing machine.

17. A combined cigarette making and packing machine, comprising in combination a cigarettemaking unit and .a packing-unit, independently controllable driving mechanisms for the cigarette-making unit and .for the packing-unit'respectively, the driving mechanisms being driven from separate, independent but synchronized sources, an endless conveyor to receive cigarettes from the cigarette-making unit and to convey them towards the packing-unit, a reservoir for cigarettes communicating with the path of the cigarettes moving towards the Packing-unit, a driving mechanism "for the conveyor connected with each of said other driving mechanisms, :arranged normally to be operated by the driving mechanism of the cigarette-making .unit but operable at will to cause the conveyor and the packing-unit to be operated at a speed greater than the normal speed of the packing-unitior the purpose of disposing of cigarettes which have accumulated in the reservoir during the stoppage of the packing-unit, and a delivery chute located between the. conveyor and the packingunit and below the reservoir.

8. A combinedflcigarette-making and packing machine, comprising in combination a cigarettemaking unit and a packing-unit, independently controllable driving mechanisms Iior the cigarette-making unit and for the packing-unit respectively, the driving mechanism being driven from separate independent but synchronized sources, an endless conveyor to receive cigarettes from the Cigarette-makingunit and to convey them towards the packingunit, .a reservoir for cigarettes communicating with the path of the cigarettes movingtowards the packing unit, a driving mechanism .tor the conveyor connected with each of said other driving mechanisms, arranged norrnahy; to be operated bythe driving mechanism oi the -oigarette-making unit but operable at will to cause the conveyor and the paoking unit to be operated at a speed greater than the normal speed of the paoking-unit tor the purpose of disposing \of cigarettes which have acounmlated in the reservoir during the stoppage of the packing-unit, .a delivery chute located between the conveyor and the packing-unit [and below the .resermir, the reservoir comprising side walls extending lengthwise along the conveyor, and amovable wall disposed at a position opposite'to and .beyondthat at which cigarettes are aaeopoo discharged from the conveyor,-and directed upwardly with its lower part adjacent a wall of the delivery chute, said movable wall comprising one or more endless bands arranged to move in a direction such as to tend to move cigarettes away from the entrance to the chute.

9. A combined cigarette-making and packing machine, comprising in combination a cigarette,- making unit and a packing-unit, independently controllable driving mechanisms for the cigarettesmalcing unit and for the packing-unit respectively, the driving mechanism being driven from separate independent but synchronized sources, an endless conveyor to receive cigarettes :from the cigarette-making unit and to convey them towards the packing unit, .a reservoir for cigarettes communicating with the path of the cigarettes moving'towards the packing unit, a driving mechanism for the conveyor connected with each of said other driving mechanisms, arranged normally to be operated by the driving mechanism of the cigarette-making unit but operable at will to cause the conveyor and the packing-unit to be operated at .a speed greater than the normal speed .oithe packing-wait for the purpose of disposing of cigarettes which have accumulated in the reservoir during the-stoppage of the packing-unit, a delivery chute located between the conveyor and the packing unit and below the reservoir, wherein the reservoir comprises a bottom wall which slopes upwardly in the direction of movement of the conveyor and a front wall disposed in advance of the position at which cigarettes first engage the bottom wall, said front wall being journalled for pivoted movement at a position above said conveyor, and mechanism operative to swing the front wall about its pivotal axis to assist the movement of cigarettes from the vconveyor into the reservoir when the (packing machine is stopped.

, 10. For mse w-ith a combined cigarette-making .a-nd packing-machine, a reservoir, a conveyor extending along the bottom oi the reservoir, said reservoir having side walls extending lengthwise of the conveyor, said conveyor forming a part of a discharge orifice from the reservoir, and a movable disposed at a position opposite the end of the conveyor and forming a further part of the discharge orifice, said movable wall comprising .at least one endless :band arranged to move in a direction such as to tend to move cigarettes away from the discharge orifice.

11. .For use with .a combined cigarette-making and packing-machine, a reservoir, .a conveyor extending along the bottom of the reservoir, side walls extending lengthwise of I he conveyor, the conveyor being arranged to terminate at a point inside the reservoir and forming a part of a discharge orifice from the reservoir, and a wall disposed at a position opposite the end of the conveyor and forming a further part of the discharge orifice, said wall comprising a plurality of endless bands arranged to move in a direction such as to tend to move cigarettes away from the discharge orifice and fixed members projecting downwardly so that their lower ends extend between two of the endless bands, the endless bands and the fixed members forming a wall of the reservoir.

12. For use with a combined cigarette-making and packing-machines reservoina conveyor extending .along the bottom of the reservoir, side walls extending lengthwise of the conveyor, the conveyor being arranged to terminate at a point inside the reservoir and forming a part of a .discharge orifice from the reservoir, and a movable wall disposed at a position opposite the end of the conveyor and forming a further part of the discharge orifice, said movablewall comprising one or more endless flexible bands which are arranged to move in a direction such as to tend to move cigarettes away from the discharge said wall comprising a plurality of endless flexible bands which are arranged to move in a direction such as to tend to move cigarettes away from the discharge orifice, and fixed members projecting downwardly so that their lower ends extend between two of the endless flexible bands, the endless flexible bands and the fixed members forming a wall of the reservoir. l

14. A machine as claimed in claim 8, wherein the-movable wall comprises a plurality of endless bands spaced apart from each other and a fixed member projecting downwardly so that its lower end extends between the bands, the bands and member together forming a wall the lower part of which is movable while the upper part is stationary.

DESMOND WALTER MOLINS. 

